Contents

Disorganised attachment is the one of three insecure patterns of attachment and constitutes a risk factor for a range of psychopathologies such as Reactive Attachment Disorder. It has been defined as the momentary breakdown of the usual organised attachment strategies. Organised attachments include the secure, and insecure (avoidant) and insecure (ambivalent) styles. It is thought to be caused by frightening or frightened parental behaviour, or loss or trauma in the parents (Main & Hesse 1990). Disorganized attachment represents an attachment disturbance (Ijzendoorn, Bajermans-Kranenburg and Juffer 2005).

Carlson,et. al. (1989)[1] found that 82% of maltreated children displayed disorganized/disoriented pattern of attachment, when measured using the Strange Situation procedure developed by Mary Ainsworth. Lyons-Ruth et al (1990) obtained figures of 55% among maltreated infants and 34% amongst low income controls (with clinical social work involvement). [2] Children with histories of maltreatment, such as physical and psychological neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse, are at risk of developing severe psychiatric problems[3][4]. These children are at risk of developing Reactive Attachment Disorder.[5][6]. These children may be described as experiencing trauma-attachment problems and are likely to develop Reactive Attachment Disorder[7], which is a psychiatric diagnosis. The clinical formulation of Complex post traumatic stress disorder is a clinical perspective on this set of problems[8]. The trauma experienced is the result of abuse or neglect, inflicted by a primary caregiver, which disrupts the normal development of secure attachment. As was mentioned earlier, such children are at risk of developing a disorganized attachment [9][10][11]. Disorganized attachment is associated with a number of developmental problems, including dissociative symptoms [12], as well as depressive, anxiety, and acting-out symptoms [13][14].

↑Carlson, V., Cicchetti, D., Barnett, D., & Braunwald, K. (1995). Finding order in
disorganization: Lessons from research on maltreated infants’ attachments to their
caregivers. In D. Cicchetti & V. Carlson (Eds.), Child maltreatment: Theory and
research on the causes and consequences of child abuse and neglect (pp. 135–157).
NY: Cambridge University Press.

↑Lyons-Ruth, K. (1996). Attachment relationships among children with aggressive
behavior problems: The role of disorganized early attachment patterns. Journal of
Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64, 64–73.